Of Friendship, Of Fate
by Iorhael-nin
Summary: After Spiderman 2. In the past, Peter has overtly proven that he protects the ones he loves. But how can he gain credibility among them when once again the enemy wears the mask of a friend?
1. Occupational Hazard

_Of Friendship, Of Fate_

This is my Spiderman story. It comes after Spiderman 2, which I must say is GODLY! Hmm. Here's my story then. As usual, an OC. This time, it's not a very large character. Used often, but not pivotal. After all, who's going to help evil thrive? If they can do it in the movies, I can do it in my story. We miss you, Doc Oc! Moment of silence for the awesome baddie.

::taps:: ::hands out boxes of Kleenex:: ::sniffle::

Ok here we go then!

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He could remember the night before very vividly, and a smile came to his face. A honeymoon at last.

Mary Jane crawled up to him in bed and pressed her lips against his. "Hi." Her smile was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen.

"Hi," he said, smiling back, "Mrs. Mary Jane Parker."

"A good stage name, don't you think?" she asked, still trapped in the happiness of slumber.

"Yeah... It fits." He took his glasses from the bedside table. He wanted to get a better look at his bride. "Hey MJ?"

"Yeah Pete?"

There was a sound like a jet cutting through the air outside. A glider shot through the window, raining glass shards onto the bed. Something, someone in a green glider suit clawed Mary Jane, lifting her into the air.

"Peter!" he heard her scream.

His eyes were flung open. Oh... a dream. Just a dream...

Peter tangled himself in the sheets and tried to shut his eyes. It was still so early in the morning. So early...

He had to get up for work soon. Another day, another job. One hour was all he had. One hour until the alarm clock rang and he had to leave Mary Jane. He didn't want to leave her. He hadn't gotten enough time to spend with her since Doctor Octavius was... Peter could still see it clearly, the night man and machine were separated.

How would he face his best friend again? The look on Harry's face was stuck in his mind. Harry was so disgusted with him that night. And why shouldn't he be? As far as Harry knew, Peter had killed his kind, innocent father. Not the Green Goblin. Or did he know? No, how could he?

"Peter," Mary Jane whispered, pressing her lips against his. She was already dressed and ready for her first day of rehearsals. "Morning. I shut off your alarm clock. That thing's too loud. But it's time for work. I'll make breakfast for you and Aunt May."

"Thanks. I love you. _Have a fun day at work,_" he said through a yawn. Peter scooted to the edge of the bed to where he'd left his pants on the floor. He put his left leg into his jeans. _One, two. Pull up, zip. Tie your shoes so you don't trip._ He remembered that from kindergarten. Funny how much you forget how to do when you first wake up in the morning. Even with _his_ senses he couldn't figure out where he had put his shirt. There it was, on the wooden chair by his desk. Photos were strewn on the desk, along with his camera and a few extra rolls of film. But today wasn't meant for walking in the park snapping pictures. Today was meant for real work. The kind that made you regret getting up in the morning.

This house... It was so comforting to still be in this house. It's the house he grew up in. God bless MJ. She could afford to buy it back with the success of _The Importance of Being Earnest_. He was so proud of her. And finally they could live in the same house. In separate rooms, though. Aunt May had strict moral codes; you were only allowed to sleep in the same bed when you were married. It was a rule she lived by, and he didn't want to upset her. Soon they'd have a bed to share. Soon they'd be engaged, then married. He couldn't wait till she took his name.

Peter jogged down the stairs and kissed his aunt on the cheek. "Morning Aunt May."

"Morning Peter," Aunt May smiled at him. "My you seem to be feeling well this morning. Going to work so early?"

"Yeah. Sorry MJ, I'm gonna have to skip breakfast." He gave her a quick kiss and ran out of the door. "I'll pick you up after work!" he yelled from the sidewalk. Today would be stress. Lots...and lots... of stress.

"Right on time, Parker," his new boss said. Mr. Gardner was the type that liked young kids that could run around. They got the job done faster, after all. Even if Peter was late once in a while, he didn't seem to mind. Peter was always the first one done with his route. And he always had the most sales.

"Okay, heavy traffic today. Think you can handle it?"

"I can try," said Peter, taking his name tag from the desk. This would be easier than he thought... if the customers were still in their homes. By the looks of things, they were all in their cars, bumper-to-bumper from here to Philadelphia.

"Thanks Pete," said Mr. Gardner, walking back into his office with a jury duty notice in his hand. Peter could already hear the groans of annoyance floating from the other room.

"Maureen," Mr. Gardner said to his secretary, "can't I cancel this damn thing?"

"I'm afraid you can't, Mr. Gardner," Maureen answered, continuing to type through their conversation. "You've already canceled the past five summonses."

By the time Peter had gotten into the street, he'd wasted five minutes. "Damn," he muttered to no one, walking into an alleyway. He placed a hand on the wall, trying to get a grip. Soon he was climbing to the rooftop. Peter unfolded a picture he'd taken before from this same rooftop. On the photograph his customers' houses were labeled clearly. Last name, comma, first. Archer, Samantha. Married. All right. This ought to be simple.

Knock, knock, knock. A woman in her late forties appeared in the doorway. "Yes?" she said. She was very unenthusiastic, but maybe he could make a sale if he played the compliment game.

"Good morning, Ma'am."

She let out a fake laugh. "Ha, Ma'am. That's a good one. Know you're getting old when someone calls you Ma'am."

Strike one. Already this wasn't going well. "Mrs. Archer, I'm here to install your cable."

"Oh that's right," she said. "Weren't you supposed to be here a coupl'a days ago?"

Strike two. Why hadn't Mr. Gardner told him that it was supposed to be installed before? "I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I wasn't aware that I–"

"Yeah, yeah," she said with a flat stare. "Come on in..." She lead him through the old house, all the way out of the back door. Mrs. Archer stopped at a ladder. "That goes to the roof." The woman honestly sounded like she'd been given a sedative. "Don't stay up there too long so you can get an hour's pay. I can sue ya know."

"Don't worry M–"

"Save it," she said. "Your paid half-hour starts...now." The woman had a stopwatch for god's sakes! He might as well get to work then.

Peter waited until she went back through the door then began to climb the ladder. If only he could scale the aluminum siding. Ladders felt so needless. He wondered how much it would scare the woman to see someone climbing a telephone pole with his fingertips and the pads of his feet. Once he had reached the peak of the roof, he attached the wire, letting the excess cable fall. What he didn't notice was that the telephone wire from her house had just snapped. Perfect timing. He noted it once he was off the roof.

"Shit." The telephone pole itself wasn't very far away from the house, and if he could just climb it, split the wire and install a connector... There were no footholds on the pole. He'd have to use his other means of climbing. Would she see him? Hopefully not... Peter climbed the telephone pole quickly. Ah... the sky. He hadn't had a chance to really look at it with this new job. Speaking of which...

His foot slipped. "Ah!"

One web shot out and held him to the pole.

He heard slippers on the landing. The back door creaked open. "Are you gonna be much lon–" Mrs. Archer screamed. "HOOOLY SHIT! I'm callin' the cops on you, freak!" Strike three. In the time it took her to call the police, Peter had repaired the wire, installed her cable, and posted a note to the back of her door. "_It's installed. I took my pay. Enjoy your cable. -Your friendly neighborhood Spiderman._"

Oh yes. Peter could tell this would be a typical day of work.

_A/N: I know, it's a short chapter. And it starts out a bit slow, just picking up where we left off. The next chapter teaser: Harry finds his new business partner shares the same... goals?_


	2. A Business Proposition

_A Business Proposition_

__Harry Osborn paced in the hall, awaiting their decision. He looked quite good in his Armani suit, and he knew it. Solid gold button hooks and Italian leather shoes, all topped off with the worry that made his brows arc and furrow. He hoped to make a good impression upon them today. He had to. The company depended on it. Would they close Oscorp? He wouldn't have it. Everything his father did to keep this place alive... It wouldn't go to waste and ruin. Click, click, click. He paced faster on the hardwood floor. His father loved that company. Loved it more than he loved his own son. _No, that's not true. He loved you, so shut up about him. Can't even give him peace when he's dead? All he wanted was a brilliant scientist of a son, and you couldn't even be that._ What would happen? Why weren't they out here telling him the good news? Or bad...

"Harry."

"Mr. Jameson. Did they decide yet? How did it come out?"

He was the vice president of the Board of Representatives of Oscorp. Usually a very kind man, but times like this often turned him into a raving lunatic. Thankfully, this was a good day in the life of Mr. Allen Jameson. And so was his news.

"Better than expected. We've kept the company. Harry, I don't know how to tell you this, but... We have a new president of Oscorp. That's how we could afford to keep this company moving. We had to put the one who took us out of debt in charge."

"W-What?" Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. "We're under new management? But I'm the last Osborn. I inherited Oscorp!"

"Do you want us to drown in the debts left from the last disaster?" Jameson said. "We need this money to survive. I don't like it either, Harry, but we have no choice."__

__Harry put his hand to his forehead, rubbing his temples. It might have been Jameson's day, but not his. "Fine, fine. When will I meet this _new president?_"

"Well... Actually, Harry- Mr. Osborn, we're not sure at the time. Next week at the latest."

Harry nodded and motioned for Jameson to leave. God... a new president? They replaced him in his own company?! _Didn't you hear Jameson? They had no choice!_ He wondered what the new president was like. Was he going to put this company in different direction? As long as Oscorp prospered, he didn't really care. Keep his father's dream alive, that was all that mattered now.

Harry spent hours filing through the papers on his father's old desk. Prototype blueprints, unpaid telephone bills, pre-construction sketches, everything Norman Osborn had ever used in his life. His life... Too short. Cut short by Spiderman; by Peter Parker. _Damn you, Pete. I thought you were my friend._ You think you know people...

"See ya, Bill," Harry called to a board member. "Yeah, have a good one." The typical reply. Harry felt his vision failing him as he let sleep take him. Grant turned down the boulevard, heading for home. "Almost there, Mr. Osborn." _Yeah, yeah, yeah... Once around the block, Jeeves. I need sleep._ He hadn't had a good night's sleep since the night his father was killed. It kept him awake, remembering his dead body, crumpled in a blanket on the bed. His father had hugged him earlier that day, for the first time in years. Did he know he was going to die? _Of course not, stupid. How would he have known?_

Walking through the front door was a challenge. He nearly lost his balance, only woken a minute or two ago. Should be guard rails for the incurable drunk, he thought in wry humor. _My _dad. Forgot to put 'Alcoholic' next to 'Cherished father' on his tombstone, didn't they? He only drank when the company wasn't doing well. When the company went downhill, he naturally became addicted. A good whiskey sour once in a while is fine, but Niquil tends to disagree with a bottle of Sambuca. _Shut up! Your father provided for you. Made you spoiled. Do you think you could've gotten into a top college without his hefty donation to the school? Please._

He was exhausted now, but still alert. His mind was awake while his body begged him to lay down. Harry walked into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. Then cold... just enough so he wouldn't be boiled alive. Perfect...

Once he had shed his clothes, Harry practically melted into the water. Such a relief... He had been pent up in his office all day. Didn't even need shoulder pads in his suit today. Too much tension in his shoulders already...he would've looked like the evil man in the peacoat that always ties the damsel to the train tracks.

But that was so different now. All his muscles relaxed... He was just barely aware that his eyes were slowly closing... He could just about see past his eyelashes, like a screen.

The doorbell rang, forcing him back into the world of the living. "Damn..." He had been so close to sleep... So close...

"Charlie, please get the door." He hadn't ever heard his father say please to a servant. Too proud. Why should he give someone common courtesy? _That's the sleep talking. You know you heard him say it before. _That's true. Once. Just once... When he asked him to please, kindly go to fucking hell. Drunk again, dad? _Pot calling the kettle black again, eh? You've been drunk before, too. Do you remember what you said to the girlfriend you had? Karen. _That had been different. She deserved that. She had been sleeping with another man. Norman Osborn didn't bring up a fool. Misdeeds deserve punishment. _That's rich. Your father was murdered, and have you punished Spiderman yet? No!_ Pete was his friend. He couldn't kill his best friend, even if Parker did betray him.

Charlie knocked at the bathroom door. "I asked the nature of the visit. She said she was from Oscorp, sir."

"...She?"

"Yes, Mr. Osborn. Lovely young woman waiting just by the door."

Could it be Mary Jane? What would she be doing here? Saying she was from Oscorp... Maybe just to get into the house.

"Should I let her upstairs, sir?"

"Yeah. Yeah, let her up here."

Footsteps faded down the hallway. Harry flung himself out of the bathtub, wrapping a towel around his lower half. He was about to open the door wide when he saw a face he didn't recognize.

"Mr. Osbo–" Her eyes were opened wide, gaping at the man in the towel answering the door. He slammed the door in her face without thinking, flinging himself against the wall.

"Shit!" he whispered. _Good one, idiot. That wasn't Mary Jane._ His eyes were wide. _Did you just slam the door in the face of a coworker? _SHIT! "Ah erm uh... Sorry. I just... wasn't dressed. Um... I'll be out in a second."

"That's fine," he heard the mysterious coworker answer.

He threw on a pair of pants and the only cheap t-shirt he owned, and even that had cost him forty bucks. Oh well. He thought he might as well look semi-professional, throwing a blazer on over the t-shirt. Harry opened the door cautiously. _Hey, your dream of getting laid might still have a chance. _He shut his random thoughts out and smiled.

"Mr. Osborn?" the woman asked.

"Mmmm –I mean. Yes," he laughed and stopped trying to stare down her shirt. It had been a very long time since he'd seen a decent pair. He hadn't had a date since his relationship with MJ. "I'm Harry Osborn."

"Well Mr. Osborn. I'm Audrey Sterling, new face of Oscorp."

"Enchanted," he said, kissing her hand. "We must have dinner sometime." He'd heard his father say that once. _Works every time,_ his father told him. _The ladies love a charmer._

"For business, yes." Apparently not every time, Dad.

'If that's what you assume I meant,' he thought, keeping the confident smile plastered on his face. They shook hands, and so it began. She followed him into his upstairs lounge.

"Have a seat, please."

"Thank you," she said, sitting down and crossing her legs.

'Damn, she crossed them,' he groaned internally. 'Not even a peek?' _Keep thinking like that and you'll find yourself out of the company altogether._

"Mr. Osborne–"

"—Harry."

"_Harry._ I want you to be my business partner for this corporation. After all, it was your father's."

"I accept."

"That was easier than I planned," she smiled, adjusting her traditional black 'Peggy-Sue' glasses. Damn, she was beautiful. One of the few that looked hot in dork glasses and suits. What he would've given to slam her up against the wall and–

"Harry?" Miss Sterling asked, peering over the rims of her glasses. "Are you listening?"

"Yeah," he muttered, "Yeah, I'm...Yeah."

She laughed quietly. What was she laughing at? She couldn't read minds. _Gee I wonder. You just said "Yeah" three times, dumbass._

"I feel more comfortable calling you Mr. Osborn," Miss Sterling said, filling out a form attached to a clipboard. "Given the circumstances."

"Given what circumstances?" Harry asked.

"Mr. Osborne, you've been staring at me since I walked through the door."

"In that short skirt, I say you're beggin' for attention." _Stupid, stupid, stupid! With your luck, she's probably a black-belt that can whip your ass_.

Audrey removed her glasses."Contrary to popular thought, Mr. Osborne, I came here for a business proposition." He apologized several times and she continued. "Thank you for your consideration. I'd like to develop Oscorp in a way unheard of. I want to take the performance enhancers to another level. I want to perfect them. I want to use all the inventions that have failed in the past and create something that is worthy of a grant from any major science foundation in the world." _My god she's the daughter my father never had._

"Then we share the same goals, Miss Sterling." _Hopefully in more ways than one..._ He tried to make his move then. "Would you... go to–"

"–Yes. Dinner would be an excellent idea. We have to discuss these new plans for Oscorp." She opened her planner to next week.

"Actually I was hoping for tomorrow night." Then, he realized that he was being forward and became embarrassed. "Well if you don't have any time... It's just there's this restaurant downtown having its grand opening tomorrow night and–"

"–I think I can fit you in tomorrow." Audrey flipped back a page. "Yes... What time?"

"...Nine?"

"Fine with me." They both stood up, marking the end of her visit. Audrey shook his hand for the second time that night. "It was nice to meet you, Harry."

"Likewise." _Score! And Norman Osborn's plan of tact works again._


	3. The Villain and the Dinner Date

_The Villain and the Dinner Date_

Peter was already in class after the Tuesday-morning route. He'd made quite a few sales today. He stopped by once before work with the cash and checks from his sales and labor fee. Since he needed his weekend pay to begin with, Mr. Gardner gave him an extra fifty bucks for consistently making excellent time.

"Thanks, Mr. Gardner, but I can't accept this." Pete felt bad; was Mr. Gardner acting out of sympathy?

"Listen," Mr. Gardner said, putting a hand on Peter's shoulder. This signified the beginning of the "you're a nice kid, Pete" speech. Here it goes... "Pete, you're a nice kid. You work hard, and you know your stuff. You've got quite a brain, kid. You've sold and installed cable in three times more homes than the average employee. And ya got heart. That's why I give you a li'l extra money once in a while. I need you in this job."

"Thanks, Mr. Gardner," Peter said with a smile. He could tell this would be much more enjoyable than the pizza delivery route. But that was this morning. Now...

"Mr. Parker," Professor Giovi asked. "Do you intend to pay attention in my class, or simply doodle your way through the exam next Friday?" A few people in the large lecture hall jeered in quiet laughter.

"Sorry, Professor." Peter crumpled the sketch of Spiderman and stuffed it into his messenger bag next to his laptop (generously provided by Norman Osborn as a graduation gift).

"No, no, Mr. Parker. I'd like to see it. You've been doodling quite a bit lately. Bring it here." Peter reluctantly rose from his seat and made his way to the front of the room. He handed the crumpled piece of paper to the professor.

Giovi smoothed the ruled paper out and held it up to get a better look at it. He glanced at Peter over the rims of his glasses. "Leading a double life, are we, Parker?" he joked. "Maybe instead of a scientist, you'd rather be a fashion designer for Spandex." The acoustics of the lecture hall made the laughter bounce off of the walls, magnified in his ears by a thousand.

"You can return to your seat, Mr. Parker. I'll keep this. Who knows. It might serve as an excellent jogging suit design."

Peter walked back to his seat, feeling not even the slightest bit ashamed. He'd gotten over shame in high school. Every day he chased the bus, every time he had to repair his crushed glasses, every night he went home with a bloody nose, a bit of shame was washed away.

He took notes feverishly for the rest of the class. Then, in the back of his mind, Peter heard a scream.

"Excuse me Professor," Peter said, turning on his tape recorder. "I have to leave. There's something important." He dashed out of the room without waiting. There was work to be done. By the time he was on the steps he was already in his 'Spidey suit'. In the center of the walkway he stopped. Peter shot web to the top of a building and swung himself towards it.

Another scream. God, where was she? He then realized he had heard it in his mind. The woman was far away. At the edge of Times Square. Street corner. He didn't quite know how he'd located her, but it didn't matter now. All that mattered was that he got there in time, before anyone was hurt.

He was almost there. Shooting a web upward before he went into an instant free-fall. He had to pick up the pace. A quick dive added momentum and now he was soaring at top speed. He was almost there... So close...

The last scream was cut short by a gunshot. Peter let go of his web and met the ground at a dead run, faster than he had ever been before. Someone had been shot. Please... let her have dodged it... Let them miss... There she was.

Finally. The woman was lying on the ground outside a restaurant. The assailant had been a perfect aim.

"Someone help me," a hoarse voice whimpered. "Please someone get my child. Someone save my child." Peter hid in the shadow. The murderer. For an age the assailant stood there, frozen in the moment, relishing the feel of first kill. Wait no... The woman was still alive. A second shot. Peter heard crying before he saw the woman's child in the arms of the killer. He shot a web out and pulled the child toward him into the shadow. The assailant's head snapped to the spot.

"This isn't your kill, Spiderman," an unearthly voice hissed.

"You're right, it isn't. I don't kill."

Someone in black. Peter couldn't tell the gender yet. Yet...

"Leave the woman. There's nothing you can do. You've failed her. How does it feel to watch someone die that could have been saved, if only you were smart enough to see it coming?" The killer flew away on something... it looked like a large raven, but it was metallic. Flames shot out of the back. Someone had copied the glider. Someone was hunting innocents in the name of darkness.

Peter took the woman's wallet to see where the child belonged.

"SPIDERMAN KILLED THAT WOMAN. HE'S STEALING HER WALLET- LOOK!" The restaurant owner stood at the window, pointing at him. A few people gasped.

"No, it was that... that thing that flew away!"

"I didn't see any THING. I saw Spiderman standing over that dead woman. It's Spiderman that killed her!"

There began a heated argument as a man called an ambulance. Sirens wailed, but another sound ripped through all others.

Miles away, Peter could hear another shot being fired. _It_ was on the hunt again. The entire afternoon, Peter followed the gunshots. Every time, he had simply been too late to save the prey; only seconds too late. So many had died... It was too fast. Far too fast to be human... He was in South Jersey when he had finally matched her speed. Peter was panting, trying to catch his breath while keeping up with it.

"Give up, Spiderman."

He pulled a steel beam towards her with his web, but still, she was too fast.

"I'm sure we'll meet again. Follow the sound of bullets, you'll find me."

Now, Peter knew, all that was left to do was to collect the victims the Raven (a temporary nickname for the unknown) had left in its wake.

It was six o'clock before Peter walked through the house to the kitchen. "Hey MJ."

"Pete! What happened to you?!"

Peter hadn't noticed the scorched skin on his leg before. "Oh... I had a run-in with a garden variety murderer."

"That looks pretty bad for just a murderer. Carrying a blowtorch?" Mary Jane led him up to the bathroom and ran cold water in the tub. "Soak your leg in here. I'll get a towel." She kissed him again. The pain washed away when Mary Jane kissed him. He'd been thinking about it, fantasizing since he was a young boy.

"I missed you today. I had to leave in the middle of Giovi's lecture to save this woman's kid."

"What about the woman?"

"...Dead. Before I even got there the Raven–"

"_–Raven_?" she said in a tone that meant business. The truth was best with Mary Jane. But not at the moment. If she knew this thing was on a killing spree...

"Nickname I made up for him... her... whatever it is."

"Oh, Pete," Mary Jane said. She already knew. Nothing got past her. "This isn't just another murderer. No wonder. You can kill a murderer, no problem. But..."

"I know, MJ, I know."

"Just... don't get hurt, Pete."

"Heroes don't take sick days," Peter said, taking off his torn Spidey suit. "If it's going to attack someone else, I have to be out there rescuing people." He made a loud hiss when he sat in the water, the skin prickling with pain. Mary Jane looked at him with hurt in her eyes and stared at his leg. "It'll be all right. I just need to wrap it up."

"I'll get the towel," she winced, walking to the closet.

She worried about him too much. Naturally, super heroes have a certain risk factor in their lives, but Mary Jane shouldn't have had to worry about him every time he walked through the door. Peter had an entire hospital of first aid products in the bathroom closet. It was Aunt May's gift to him for Christmas. _"Getting hurt out there in the city. Holding a job and college. You'll need it; trust me, you'll need it."_

"Oh I was going to ask you later, Pete. But since you've got that burn I don't think it's a good idea."

"What's up?"

"Well there's the grand opening of this restaurant and I thought since I got paid again... But you're hurt, Pete. You can't go to a restaurant with that burn."

"Yes I can. Really, it doesn't hurt that bad." He knew it meant a lot to Mary Jane to go tonight. "Any of your friends from the cast gonna be there?"

Mary Jane helped him out of the bathtub. "Slow down, Pete. You've only got one leg now ya know." She laughed and helped him hop over the porcelain rim.

"Thanks. All I have to do is get some gauze and wrap it up. We can go."

"Aw," Mary Jane smiled. "But you're _sure_?" He nodded. "Thanks, Pete."

"You know you can be really adorable if you want to be. It's kinda dangerous. Could talk me into something with that."

"Oh could I?" she flirted, walking out of the bathroom. Risking his life was worth it, he knew. Peter watched her tiptoeing away for no reason at all. He _had _to marry this girl. He'd thought about it every day since she moved next door to him. It would help to propose first, though...

Once he had dressed the burn and put on a pair of boxers, Peter made his way to his bedroom. "How fancy is this new restaurant?"

"Ve-ryyy!" Mary Jane called in a sing-song voice from the stairs.

"Ohhhkaaayyy." Peter took out a jacket and tie. Blue and red. How ironic.

It took him very little time to dress, and he was running down the stairs (and on the walls occasionally) by the time his five minutes were up.

"...Wow. Let me take a better look at you," Mary Jane smiled broadly. "You look great, Pete."

She stepped under the old-fashioned ceiling lamp. She was more beautiful than ever. A wavy floral skirt, silk blouse, and a butterfly barrette holding her red hair behind her ear.

"MJ... You look beautiful." There was nothing else he could manage.

"Thanks. Well? Let's go!" Mary Jane took his hand and they walked out of the door. Who needed a car when Peter could get them to the restaurant in less than five minutes? He climbed buildings and swung in shadow. No one would see him if he didn't want them to. Peter had learned that a long time ago.

"This it?" Peter asked Mary Jane from the rooftop.

"Yeah."

"...It's nice."

"I know. Now can we go through the front doors?"

Peter wrapped his arm around her and descended the back of the building. The line in front stretched halfway around the block, but was moving quickly. He didn't let go of her hand, afraid to lose her in the crowd. So afraid of losing her in every way...

The inside was a stereotypical highbrow restaurant. Long lines, actors, overdressed valets. There were even a few waiters that sang for tips. An elaborate name to match elaborate people. _Elysium._ Mary Jane pointed out a few friends from the cast. They waved.

"Pete, this is Carl."

"Hey, Pete."

"Hi."

"This is Pam, Katie, Joe, Mike, April, and Courtney."

They all echoed a 'hello' to him. He nodded and smiled. This was where Mary Jane fit in. Not him. He was never the life of the party. In fact, he was never even _invited_. A nerd for all time.

"Okay Pete. Um... Would you mind finding us a seat? I just need to discuss some script changes for a minute–"

"–Sure, go ahead." God, he loved her. She was so much of everything he wasn't. He watched all the rich, glamorous people dining, and saw his chance to get a table... There were two in the center. He was about to sit down when he recognized someone. 'Recognized' wasn't the word. Too violent a realization for 'recognize'. His involuntary enemy was about to sit directly behind him. Peter turned his head back around once he was in his chair, practically hiding. As if _he_ hadn't noticed... _Please... no disruptions tonight. Not now... Not with all of MJ's friends a few tables away..._

_I had to cut this one in half because... well... actually I just felt like it! Bwahaha. Ok. I'm good now. School starts... in... how many days? I've mentally blocked the number (my mind hasn't informed me yet that I'm in denial of return to school). _

_REVIEWS! WoOt! To save time (so I can start writing the new chapter now), I will say to all of you THANK YOU! YOUR REVIEWS JUMPSTART MY MIIIIND! That, and Red Bull. Damn, that stuff really does give you wings._

_Coming soon: A single-chapter songfic dedicated to the original Green Goblin- Norman Osborn. I'm using the song "Behind Blue Eyes" by Limp Bizkit. Be on the lookout for it!_


	4. Conflicted

_Conflicted_

The doorbell rang. Harry didn't even take the time to put his legs into his pants, he jumped and aimed for the leg holes. _She's here. Goddamn it you're late. Can't keep this one waiting. It's a matter of life and death for your sex life. _Nah. She was a respectable girl. Besides, putting 'the moves' on her wasn't going to work. She had her own hunk of cash. And probably a man, too. _Of course she does. Look at her!_ Harry couldn't look at her just yet. He was still in his bedroom, getting dressed as fast as humanly possible. The naked ten-foot sprint from the shower to the bedroom nearly broke the sound barrier (and a few toes). Thank god Charlie hadn't been on the second floor. Unnecessary exposure to your boss wasn't in the job description.

Finally. Armani was the way to go. But he stepped it up a bit today. Gucci. His best leather jacket. He liked leather. Dangerous. _Take out the shoulder pads. Much better. _He wasn't as tense today. Or at least, it didn't show in his shoulders like it usually did. He was wasn't tense... just nervous. Excited.

"She's downstairs, Mr. Osborn," Charlie said through the door.

"Thanks." Now he was nervous _and_ tense. Keeping Audrey Sterling, 'the new face of Oscorp', waiting... Not the best idea. He adjusted his tie.

"Harry, I'm up here. I'll wait near the stairs. Is that all right?"

_Hey, she called you Harry. One step for man... One giant leap for– _Now wasn't the time for wandering of the mind. _Focus, man, focus!_

"That's fine." Harry smiled to himself. __

__Nice pair of loafers, and he was done. "Miss Sterl–"

__His jaw dropped. Literally. Audrey was wearing the second skimpiest skirt he'd ever seen. _Vegas showgirls don't count. _Okay, it was _the_ skimpiest skirt. It was already short, and then it angled up to the length of short-shorts with a curled up edge. _How does she sit in that thing?_ One side long-sleeved, one side tube top. _Ohhh yeah. This is gonna be an interesting dress for a business convo..._

"That's... for a business dinner?" Harry grinned slyly. He knew what he was doing. Bosses in miniskirts gave him a certain confidence.

"Well it is Prada. Not a uniform, but I assure you, it's nothing from discount stores–"

"I didn't mean that, really," he murmered. _Good one. You offended her. _"I just.. Nevermind."

"Is it too..."

"It's sexy," he blurted, clenching his eyes shut. _Ahhh said that wrong. Fffuck. _

Audrey stifled a giggle."Hm. Thanks, Harry. Shall we?"

"Absolutely."

Audrey offered him her arm. They walked out of the doors to the limo parked in the circular drive.

"How about my car?" she asked Harry. She had a black convertible. Very hot car that looked like the Batmobile. He knew that car...

"How'd you get a Solstice? They're not even on the market yet."

"You just have to know where to look." The cryptic message was summed up by the next two words she said. "Black Market."

"_...The Black Market?_" Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. A market known worldwide for being sordid; dangerous. A place where they sell body parts for two cents on the dollar wasn't a place he imagined Audrey. "But... why?"

"Oh please, I didn't become a hit woman to get the car, Harry," she laughed. "It was two hundred thou."

Harry knew that car was worth double what she bought it for. "What did you sell them?"

"Sell them?" she laughed. "Nothing, Harry. Nothing! Now please..." Audrey took his hand. "...Let's go."

"Okay," he said in a hoarse murmur. _She's just holding your hand. God, you would think she just grabbed your ass the way you're reacting. What's that? Awww you like her. _

"Shut up."

"What?" Audrey said.

He mumbled, looking down at his jacket. "Nothin'. Talking to myself."

Harry opened the driver's side door for her.

"Wanna give it a test drive?" She asked.

Did he ever. The car was a marvel. "Hell yeah."

Audrey smiled. Harry loved her smile. She walked around to the other side of the car once he was in. He ran his hands over the leather on the steering wheel. _Why didn't I get one of these beauties...? _He unlocked the doors and let Audrey in. _Oh yeah. I already got one. _

"Stick shift," she grinned.

"What?"

"The car. It's stick shift."

"Oh. I thought you said... hehe..." the nervous laugh went into a blank stare. He drew a breath in sharply. "Nevermind."

"How's it handle?" Audrey asked him.

Turning out of the circular drive was a breeze. He was zipping down the freeway in no time flat. "Like a dream," he said. There was a faint smile of excitement on his face. "This one's... wow. I need to get one of these."

"Oh, and by the way, Harry. You look incredible in Gucci."

_Did she just say that?_ "Aren't we supposed to keep this professional, Audrey?" _Do you really wanna keep it professional? Go with it, man!_ It was true. This was a business dinner.

"Sorry..." She adjusted her glasses and looked out the window. It was starting to drizzle. There was a long pause, and an awkward silence until Harry spoke up. "Do I?"

Audrey laughed softly to herself. Harry loved this. She was the boss. _Kinky._ But no matter how he wished to make her into a 'bad girl', she was just... _Wholesome? Not in those clothes, sweetheart._ A smirk appeared on his face.

"This restaurant," Audrey started, "it's filled to the rafters with every celebrity and Broadway actor you've ever heard of, and a few you haven't. The inside... I've heard it's like an old romantic black-and-white film. I love black and white. And all the retro super-heroes; the villains."

"Yeah," said Harry, "the corny costumes and theme songs. Remember Robin's tights?"

Audrey sighed and let out a short laugh, "Yes, I do. But I loved the heart and soul of the villain. What provoked them. The Penguin. The Riddler. Lex Luthor. All those oldies. They were my heroes... Superman did look good in those tights, though."

"And Catwoman with all that leathery spandex."

They spent the rest of the ride reminiscing and laughing; the time flew. Harry found he didn't have to impress her with intellect. _That's great, because you aren't half as smart as she is._ They... understood the world in simplest terms. They could talk forever about different decades; how the world worked today. They both new the business world in the rawest form.

"We're here," she said softly, pointing to the restaurant. It was pouring now. The rain on the roof of the car made a calming lullaby that nearly caused Audrey to doze off. Harry smiled.

"This place. Beautiful."

"Yes, I know."

Harry made a last attempt at chivalry when he took the umbrella around to her door. He opened the door for her and kept her out of the rain.

"Aren't you one to impress," she laughed. "But that's quite fine. I love the rain."

"Thunder," Harry said, "that's the real power." He'd never felt so childish and yet so at home.

"But thank you," said Audrey, "I'll need the umbrella for _these_ clothes."

They walked past the line to the very front, where the maitre d' waited. "Miss... Sterling?"

"Yes," she answered.

"Ah. Reservations for two, center table. Non-smoking?"

Harry nodded. He hated the smell of his uncle's cheap cigs as a child, and the aroma still haunted him to this day. And his father! Good old Norman. His yearly "Birthday" cigar started becoming monthly, then weekly, daily... Gradual addiction. No one knew what it was to be home with him. _Not even you did. Spent your time in the dorm trying to stay away from home. Got you your own apartment and how did you thank him? Didn't even visit him that Christmas. His last Christmas. _His last...

"Isn't this place wonderful?" Audrey said, enthused by the low hum of fame in its entirety. They were walking into the back archway of a crowded dining hall.

Harry stopped breathing as soon as he walked toward the table. Peter was only inches away from his table. They'd be sitting back to back. Anger coursed through his veins like his own blood, but fire under his flesh. _Pete. Traitor. You thought he was your friend! He killed your father, stole your girl, and tore your friendship to pieces. You have... nothing. Because of him. All because of him. _

Shut up.

_You know how much you want to spill his blood in a river around you. _

No. The darker side of Harry Osborn would never appear.

_You want to see him dead. Hell. You would kill MJ to get to him._

No... Not MJ. She didn't do anything to me. __

_You know you would. Take out your switchblade. You can do it. You can end it now. End him now._

That's insane. Harry would never hurt Pete. No matter how angry he was. Pete was his friend...

_A friend wouldn't kill your father, Harry. Remember? Remember how much he loved Pete? Like his own son!_

__But Audrey. Audrey was there. Harry still hung onto the only shred of friendship he had with Peter. He walked to the table in silence. __

_He just looked at you. He knows you're here. Look how he's hiding from you. Coward!_

He pulled out a chair for Audrey. He didn't hear her thank him, he was too distracted. There was nothing he could do to avoid...

_Mary Jane... MJ's right there. Your girl. The girl Spiderman took away. _

__Spiderman... no...

_He took your soul, now take his life._

__Shut up.

_You know you never really wanted to be his friend. He was such a dork. MJ was your goal, even when you knew he loved her._

"SHUT UP!"

The room went silent. Audrey held onto the table in shock. All the chatter and excitement had screeched to a halt, and every pair of eyes in the room moved to the source of the yell. All eyes on Harry.

"Hello MJ," Harry managed.

First she looked scared, then, she masked it perfectly with surprise. "Harry! I missed you." Mary Jane gave him a hug. With that embrace, the majority of the noise and clutter in the room commenced.

_It used to be more than just friends... She used to love you. Pete took her away. _

No. Mary Jane never loved Harry. It was out of sheer boredom that she dated him. And then Peter came along. Her knight in colorful spandex. "I missed you too."

"...And um..." Mary Jane hesitated. "Pete's here with me."

Peter looked to Harry.

_TRAITOR._

"...Hey." He was so delayed, and his eyes were slightly wide. As if recovering from trauma.

"Peter." There was nothing else he could say to his best friend. _Your best friend who took advantage of your friendship. Stole everything. Punish him for his misdeeds. You want to. You need to. You have to._

__Harry's hand trembled, trying to fight his distorted conscience. He took his seat.

"Hm... Excellent taste in wine," Audrey muttered, trying to set a happier mood. "What would you like to drink, Harry?"

Hearing her voice brought him back into the land of the living.

"Oh." The waiter was standing at their table. "Sauvignon Blanc?" Now he thanked god that he had taken French in high school. His accent was quite impressive. Too bad he had nearly failed English.

"And you, Miss?"

"The same, thank you."

"I'll return with your wine shortly." The waiter scribbled it on a small pad of paper.

"I didn't know you spoke French."

"I don't. But I did pick up an accent after four years sitting in the back of the class," he joked. Audrey laughed, taking a sip of water. _I'm glad she thought it was funny. But you weren't kidding._

"What language did you take, Audrey?"

"Oh, I took Latin all through high school. But I took three years of French in college. Beautiful language. A beautiful country, too. Ever been?"

"France? No..."

"Oh.. It's beautiful. You'd love it, Harry."

"I'm sure I would," Harry said as their wine was delivered in a bucket of ice.

The waiter seemed timid. "I apologize for the delay."

_There's at least one hundred to serve. He's only been gone four minutes... What is he talking about?_

__"Really, it's fine. Actually, you're early."

"Oh. Th-thank you. Is everything correct, Miss Sterling?"

"Yes," she said stiffly, "fine. Now if you please." Audrey motioned to the table nearest them. He scuttled away.

Harry gave her a sideways glance. "You know him?"

"Old boyfriend," she muttered as the waiter walked back through the kitchen doors.

_What the... Old boyfriends don't act like crime victims. You know there's something more there. Ask her. _

It wasn't polite to discuss her personal life over a business dinner. If that's what it was...

--------

_A/N: This was the longest chapter so far.. Wow. Long delay for school and band practices! I will still continue, but slowwwly. I will go back to normal speed around the end of this crazy band schedule (Nov. 25), and uber-typing will begin on December 21st. Keep looking for the story when you can! I have hit a very interesting part of the story._

_And now, a brief interlude of songfic. It's not over yet, baby!_

She spoke of chemistry equations he'd never heard of, but it didn't matter. They ordered, though he didn't even read the menu. All he said was "same," and moved on. Just basking in her light was enough to keep him captivated the entire evening. He'd even forgotten about Peter and Mary Jane, who'd left long ago. Peter... He'd heard Pete's chair sliding across the floor, and he'd waved indirectly at Mary Jane when she bid him good night. But Harry hadn't truly been aware since Audrey first spoke.

He nodded, and could understand the words, but never did they register. How could beauty have this hold on him? _Well you're human. That's a start..._

_You and the night and the music_

_Fill me with flaming desire_

But it was more. There was this air about her that was so unlike any other woman he'd ever known. Enthralling... It was almost too much to handle. _The looks, the smarts, the grace, the wit, the daring, and the leadership. Definitely a better president than you would have been. Wonder how Allen will react to a 'lady-boss'. _Harry found himself watching her twirl fettuccini on a fork. Everything about her was grace. Smooth lines, quick, graceful movements. She was like art in motion.

_Please, for your sake, let this night have a very good ending._

_Setting my being completely on fire_

Audrey drove the car on the way back from the restaurant, both a bit dazed, but nothing too dangerous to drive. Harry was more sensible of the two, but he had had one two many glasses of that instant romance called alcohol. Still, nothing... accomplished...

_You and the night and the music_

_Thrill me but will we be one_

She put the car into the fourth gear and sped down the highway, heading for the 'mansion' that was Harry's home.

_After the night and the music are done_

Audrey pulled into the circular drive and parked, unlocking the doors.

"So," Harry said, his eyes still on the ground. He looked up for a moment, then the ground._ Audrey, ground, Audrey, ground. Pick one!_ "I had a wonderful time tonight." The words would have come faster from his mouth had he been in his right mind. "Really."

The next sentence from Audrey came as a surprise. She slunk to the door, "Who said tonight ends now?"

_Oh my god your prayers have been answered! Go for it!_ But it wasn't an open come-on. "What are you talking about?"

She took his hand and pulled him through the door. _I think it's safe to guess at her intentions... _

"Audrey, you're my boss. Are you su–"

"Harry, use logic. This isn't going to get you promoted. Just laid."

He would have protested, but she was strangely accurate. _So much for pure young lady of high standards and strict morals. Maybe the suit was a porn cliche. _

"And besides, who am I going to tell?" Her smile was enough to convince him. _Go with it. Don't be stupid...This is your only chance. _With his half-grin, Audrey led him upstairs.

_Until the pale light of dawn and in daylight_

__The door was slammed, and clothes were thrown to the floor in haste...__

_Hearts will be throbbing guitars_

__If he had forgotten to say something, now was not the time to remember... His mind was dulled by the scent of perfumed skin.__

_Morning will come without warning and take away the stars_

_If we must live for the moment_

_Love 'til the moment is through_

__As everything had moved so quickly before, fumbling with bra hinges seemed to slow time. _Snap...Snap...Snap- playtime._

__Audrey shoved him back onto the bed and soon followed. __

_After the night and the music die_

_Will I have you?_


	5. Reunited, Sort Of

_Reunited... Sort Of_

Peter was still sleeping. Dreaming, as far as he knew.

_Hey Pete._

Hey! Harry. I've got something to tell you.

_Oh yeah?_ The famous Harry Osborn smile appears on his face. The smile that broke a thousand hearts.

Yeah. I just wanted to tell you about how your father died.

The grin would fade from Harry's face. Now there was anger etched on his face.

Harry, your father was the Green Goblin. He tried to kill me because you wanted MJ. He tried to kill me with his glider, but I was too fast. He killed _himself_. Now everything will be fine with us, right? Friends?

_Liar!_

Peter would hold out his hand for Harry to shake; but that hand would be cloven from his arm by a sharpened blade. Just as the same blade swung at Peter's neck...

"Good morning, _darling_," a malicious voice said. He opened his eyes slightly. The Raven loomed over him in his defenseless state. Still bleary-eyed, he was forced into a state of shock. Where was Mary Jane? He could smell breakfast cooking downstairs. Hopefully she'd stay in the kitchen.

"What are you doing here?" Then, Peter decided to go for the more... direct approach. "Leave my family alone. If you even think about hurting them-"

"-You'll what? _Sling your little webs around me and hand me over to the authorities?_ Please."

"I was thinking about killing you first."

"Ooh," it laughed. "Getting fiesty in the face of danger, are you?"

"It's my job. What's yours? Wearing that Halloween costume and flying around on that _stolen_ glider?"

A long, razor-sharp dagger was held in its right hand. The Raven sliced his clothes down the middle. Peter's bright red Spidey suit shone underneath. "Suddenly my Halloween costume's inadequate. What _will _I Trick-or-Treat in? The fact of the matter is, Peter Parker--- _I_ have the upper hand– in more ways than one, I might add." It tightened its grip on the dagger. "What a pointless end to a pointless life. Sacrificing all so that others might live. So cliche, don't you think?"

"Obviously more than you do. That dagger's fine, but what about this one?" Peter reached to its side and grabbed hold of another dagger, stabbing its side. It fell back onto the bed, then slid to the floor. There was a crunch from the floor as the Raven landed on a picture frame.

"No..."

Peter sat on the Raven's stomach and removed its cape... her cape. "Not very good at hiding your... anything... are you? Let's see who's behind this mask." The half-mask was very much like a combination of Mardi Gras and Zorro. Before Peter could even react, she embedded a shard of the glass picture frame in his stomach.

She mounted the glider and crashed head-long through the window, flying into the crisp morning air.

"PETER!" Mary Jane cried, rushing to him. "It was that thing again, wasn't it? Pete, can you hear me?!"

"I'm fine," he whispered. "MJ, please- call an ambulance. I'll get myself out of the suit." He tried to keep calm for his sake and hers. He didn't want Mary Jane to worry, even if this proved fatal...He wouldn't see her crying over him. First... the blade. He took a piece of glass from the floor beside him and cut the spandex from around the wound. If he wanted to live, there was no way to remove the dagger– not now.

"I called the ambulance, Pete. They'll be here soon." She helped him to dress at least enough to be decent for when they rushed in. She stared at the dagger. "Oh, Pete." Tears welled up in her eyes.

"I'll be fine, MJ. Really." A lie. But he didn't want her to cry anymore. It pained him more than the blade in his side to see her face wet with tears. Then...everything was so... pale. So bright. It was beautiful. But Mary Jane was fading away. _Everything_ was...

"_Pete. Hey, Pete- wake up."_

Ah, he was dreaming. Peter could hear Harry's voice. It must have been when he almost drowned in the lake. It was the year that he went on the junior high trip to a remote campground. What was the name again?

"_Pete!"_

Sunnybrook. That was it. _"Counselor Scott- he's over here!" _

Counselor Scott. Peter wondered if he was still a camp counselor, or if he had moved on to tackle a job. If he had, it would probably be as a Mountie. Scott was ne'er too bright for someone who had to direct and ensure the safety of hundreds of children every year.

"_What's wrong with him?"_

"_HE'S ALL PURPLE- DO SOMETHING!"_

"_Ya think CPR will do it?"_

"_Move!"_

That last voice... MJ. Peter thought he had died and gone to heaven when Mary Jane had saved him. She was the only person who could perform CPR with an IQ over sixty. Waking up to see Mary Jane hovering over him... That was enough. But _mouth-to-mouth?_ He almost stopped breathing again from shock alone. Then... embarrassment. He was still a bit purplish and weak. Everyone had crowded around him, some to gasp and point and stare, others just to laugh. _Others_ meaning...

"_Hey Parker- that's the only mouth-to-mouth you'll get for the rest of your life."_ It was Flash Thompson and his groupies. Laughter. That's all he could remember before he blacked out again. He was fine, just tired from his early-morning near-fatal swim.

"_Pete!"_

Why was Harry still calling him? He was fine.

"_Peter!"_

But the voice was deeper, like Harry's voice is now. Maybe it was Harry...

"Pete, you're awake. Brought you somethin'." Harry was looming over the hospital bed with an X-Men action figure. "Thought maybe you'd want another _hero_ to keep you company."

He stared at the little spandex-clad muscle-bound man with the large claws. It scowled in bright yellowish orange and black. "...Thanks. So... You're _not_ gonna try to kill me anymore?"

Harry laughed and smiled with his notably perfect teeth. It was Harry, all right. The same Harry that had been there every year to support him. Mostly with cash, but still- whenever Peter had needed him...

"Peter, thank God," Mary Jane ran toward him. For a brief moment while their lips met, every pain melted away.

"Get a room, you guys," Harry mumbled, trying to cover it by clearing his throat. "So," he raised his voice.

"So..." Mary Jane said, "I heard you have a new head of the company."

"Yeah."

"A woman."

"...Yeah."

Peter wondered why the delayed smile spread across Harry's face. "What was _that?_"

"Nothing, she's just- a very new partner. Very... business-oriented."

"Oh..." Peter knew that wasn't the case, but he took it and moved on. "She nice?"

"Mmm... Yeah she's— she's nice."

"...I see now," Peter said, "...you're dating your boss."

"That's ridiculous, Pete." Harry stared at the linoleum as he spoke, concealing a smile.

Mary Jane changed the subject, sensing that Harry was trying to lie. "Come on, boys. Behave. Now, I've got some lunch for _you_," she said to Peter, "and there's food in the cafeteria for you, Harry."

"Actually, I have to go."

Mary Jane cut in. "Meeting that girl?"

"My boss?"

"No, that girl with you at the restaurant. The one with the really... short..."Mary Jane motioned to a place near the top of her thigh. The short-skirted woman Harry had been with the other night.

"That _was _my boss."

Peter tried not to laugh. "Interesting working conditions?"

"Never a dull moment." Harry held up a paper cup of juice. "Cheers."

"Cheers," Peter laughed, toasting and taking a sip of the intensely sweet fruit punch. Somehow, something wasn't quite right. Everything was so congenial; so placid. So... eerie. Peter just smiled lightly and let his eyes close. The sedatives had worked fairly well. "So they stitched me up, huh?"

"Pretty much," Harry answered. Every word echoed now as he drifted off. "Well, they had to patch this cut in your stomach, and..." The last words were cut off when Peter slipped into unconsciousness again.

He could see it. He could see _her_. The Raven. So close... he could feel it. Feel her, breathing down his neck with the cold severity of death.

"Good morning," a voice echoed. It wasn't a voice in his mind. It was a shock from reality. Peter jolted forward in his bed and let out a groan of pain.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were sleeping," said the woman.

"Pete, this is Audrey Sterling. My boss." Harry was still here? Hm. Maybe his caring disposition wasn't all a facade. With this news Peter found that he had wasted almost an entire day on sleep. It was already the next morning

"Oh...H-Hi," Peter said, stifling a yawn. He drew a hand to his mouth and extended the other to the lady-boss. "Nice to meet you." Very nice to meet her. No wonder Harry loved his job so much. He noted Harry's arm around her waist. It was too early for visitors. Harry _must_ have spent the night. But what of the woman? Had she stayed? Only to be with Harry, then.

Harry spoke up. "The doctor said the surgery was a success, Pete. He said you can go home now."

"Wonderful." Peter's answer was mingled with sleep, happiness, and disappointment. The disappointment... The Raven would be waiting for him when he returned home. Maybe he could sustain another injury before he left the room...

But Audrey walked into the hallway, and Harry hung his head out of the archway. Peter knew that she was kissing him goodbye at the moment. He didn't have to hide behind the door. It was just... dangerous. Dating your boss? _Loving_ your boss? That wasn't _all_ that was happening. Peter was more observant than anyone knew. Well... almost anyone.

"Hey Pete," Mary Jane walked past the two lovebirds glued to the doorway. This time, Peter lifted himself to kiss her. The pain was much less than before, and such a lovely symptom followed. He had kissed her... It was wonderful to be alive again. "How are you?"

"Fine," Peter answered, "a lot better."

"Good. I was worried about you, Tiger."

"I was worried about me, too- but only for a little bit." Peter hoped it would at least cheer her up to hear him joking again.

"I hate to do this, Pete... but..." She kissed him again. "I've got to go to a rehearsal for a new play. I'll be back on my lunch break to take you home."

"Bye."

"Bye," she smiled, running out of the door. Just to breathe in the energy she carried with her through the day. It was amazing...

"Pete," Harry said. "Sorry, buddy. I have to go back to work. You know my cell." Audrey pulled him out of the door as he mouthed the words 'call' and gestured a phone. He was jerked out of the doorway almost violently and Peter heard two pairs of quick footsteps trailing down the hall. Maybe sleep would take him now. Maybe?... It was certain. Hopefully it wasn't all a dream.

_A/N: FINALLY IT'S ALL OVER! Now school play season begins. Busy, busy, busy. But I shall continue none-the-less. _

_Hm... the next chapter ought to be interesting. Weeee I'm so obsessed._

_Thank you for your reviews! Very helpful. Alas, I cannot answer each individual review at the moment. At the very end, I shall answer them alllllll! Bwahahahaha!!!_


	6. Nowhere Special

_Nowhere Special_

"So, where are we going _now?_" Harry asked Audrey on the way to the 'Batmobile'. He hadn't been very keen on leaving Peter there all by himself. Someone was trying to kill him.

_It should be you. But someone's topped you in the category of bravery today._

Not bravery. Hatred. Madness. Though Harry did have his own brand of madness, far more concentrated than he liked to admit.

Audrey pushed the unlock button on her keychain remote. The car doors unlocked and swung open. "Business meeting. We've hit the big time, Harry. They're calling us in to discuss expansion of the company."

"Great, and...Hey! How come you didn't use the remote last time we jumped in the car?"

"You were so gentlemanly getting the door for me," she smirked. "I didn't want to break the mood."

"Oh. And where is this business meeting?" He sat down just after she did, examining his very favorite car.

"Nowhere special."

"Oh yeah? And where's that?"

"Russia."

Conversation came to a screeching halt as he closed the car door. "_What?_"

"Oh, Harry," Audrey closed her door. "This is the biggest break you'll ever get in your life. Just bear with me for a moment. Please."

Harry sighed. Either her charm or her right hand on his knee had worked very well. He assumed it was the latter. "To the airport, _ma cherie_." Ah, he remembered one or two phrases. _Smooth. Very. Scoring some major points today. _He noticed his black fedora on the dashboard. _Hm. Must've left that in the front during a... previous rendevous. _Karen had bought him that. Not too shabby for an everyman's store. _Who are you trying to fool? You love that hat. _He picked it up, placed it on his head, and tipped the brim over his eyes. It would be a very long drive to the airport from here.

No dreams... empty space.

_Save me, Harry._

You're gone, Dad, I can't save you anymore.

_Save my memory. You're forgetting._

How could I forget? You haunt me every night. Can't I get a peaceful sleep once in a while?

_I'm slipping from your mind, Harry. After all I gave you, I'm still forgotten. I gave you a past, so you could be in the present now, comfortable and lazy like you are. Harry- what will you do with this future? Will you waste it sitting around, supervising that floozy that you call a boss?_

I love her.

_Well isn't that nice? Did you love your own father, Harry? Did you love me?!_

Of course I did, Norman! You know that. (Not often did he call his own father by his first name, but anger had made Harry bitter and distant.)

_Not enough. Not enough to care. Not enough to avenge me. To kill. To die. I loved you that much. I died for you, son. And you've sold my company to that girl. Giving up my company so you can get a little on the side. Paying her like the gentlemen's whore. _

I love her!

_Too bad she doesn't feel the same. Just keep her happy with money and power, and she'll stay with you until you're bank account is dry. _

You hate that I found someone who's not a spitting image of Mom. It's just like with MJ.

_I tried to kill that so-called friend of yours so you could get his girl. But now look at me. Rotting in a grave. And YOU. You're living off of my life savings. You won't kill Spiderman for me. You won't kill Peter. _

You're right. I won't.

_Watch that girl, son. Keep a close eye. She'll turn on you and keep you as a pawn. You're so blind now, I don't see how it will do any good to warn you. Remember me, Harry. _

Harry felt Audrey kiss his forehead. "We're here." She was leaning in his passenger side window. "C'mon. The pilot's getting impatient."

"Private jet?"

"Of course we have a private jet! What do you take me for?" Audrey laughed and led Harry to the terminal. "It's five hours across the ocean, then half a day over land- we'll see that starting tomorrow morning, the landscape is gorgeous. After that, a limo ride to Moscow."

They walked to the platform and boarded the jet, noticing a few people along the way. Those poor souls in the terminal, settling for coach and a travel bag of peanuts. It was a bit foggy that day, but still relatively good weather to fly. He wondered what Allen would think when both the President and the Vice President were missing from the company- and to go to Moscow!Harry gaped at the interior of the small jet. "Holy sh-... It's a penthouse with wings."

"Thought you'd like it."

"_Like it?_ There's a bedroom in the fuckin' plane, Audrey! This is awesome!" He felt like a child again, and a little inappropriate. "Sorry, it's just..."

"I know. That's why I bought it in the first place."

"_You bought a plane?_" Harry didn't know whether he should be impressed or jealous. He gazed through the doorway directly in front of him. "Wait... There's only one bed. And besides... I don't sleep during the afternoon."

"Who said we were going to sleep?"

"Oh..." That's all that could escape his mouth before Audrey shut the door and dove at him like a bird of prey. Harry couldn't say he was bothered by the... enthusiasm.

_The sex isn't a yawn either. Better than whiskey. Better than Vegas. Better than breathing. Concentrate, man. Still remember how to take off your belt, don't you? Even remember that you HAD a belt? Didn't think so. _

The 'Do Not Disturb' sign was still swinging on the door when the lighted words over the doorway blinked for seatbelts. The pilot's voice echoed over the intercom. "Your seatbelts, please. We're preparing to take off."

Audrey fastened her seatbelt loosely and motioned to Harry to do the same.

"–ah fuc— eh... Christ that hurt."

"What'd you do?"

"Caught skin in the seatbelt."

"Not so difficult with all that skin to catch," she observed, laughing and gazing at him. "Nothing too deadly, right?"

"Oh," he blushed. "Nah. I'm fine." _Why are you so shy around her? You already slept with the girl for god's sake. _Audrey was different. She was... classy. He, Harry Osborn, son of a billionaire, had always been a bit less than crème de la crème. Yet Audrey, who had made her living by being truly brilliant (not just monetarily impressive) was a true class act. He didn't want to embarrass _her_, much less himself.

A few more minutes of silence and the plane had leveled again. "You may now remove your seatbelts and... continue with your regularly scheduled activities."

Harry stared up at a camera just above them, then yelled and ran to the other corner of the room. "He can see us!"

Audrey laughed, and would've fallen out of her chair had she not been belted in. "Only a few seconds worth of video. As soon as he saw the sign on the doorknob, he turned off the cameras. It's for my safety."

"_Safety?"_ The concern wasn't easily hidden. "Audrey, who are you protecting yourself from?"

"No one. That's the point. If there ever was someone, he'd know."

"I don't believe you."

"You don't have to."

"Seems I don't have to do anything now that you're the head of the company."

She sat down on the bed. "If you wanted to be the president, then why didn't you speak up?"

"I could be the president of Oscorp?"

"Well, no, that wasn't part of the agreement. But if you were that heartbroken I could've at least bought you a consolation gift and a box of Kleenex."

Harry glared at her, but it was useless. She was too much... too much of everything for his senses to handle. Audrey the beautiful, the adorable... _The half-naked._ Which reminded him...

"I'll be back in a second," Audrey said as flirtatiously as was possible with so much of the mystery already taken away.

The bathroom door closed and Harry heaved a sigh. _Ooh duffle bag. _He suddenly wondered what things Audrey might be keeping in her large duffle in the corner of the room. _Maybe something sexy to wear._ He unzipped the main compartment: average, girly items. Combs, changes of clothes, stockings and the like. Then, a rather well-hidden back compartment. A few snaps and a zipper... Beneath his skin, Harry's blood raged with the excitement of things to come.

"Hmmm...Oh," he exaggerated, talking to himself. "Black leather...and _a mask?_ Pretty kinky for a lady-boss..." It was sheer luck that he missed the glint of a blade at the very bottom of the small black compartment as he walked toward the bathroom door.

_Mal dormiens._

_A/N: I'm on fiyaaaa! I'm now a writing fiend! Hopefully my schedule will reflect my writing habits. Hm... Hope I have time to update soon..._


	7. Savior of the Suburbs

_Savior of the Suburbs_

The sun seemed to glare at him through the window of the hospital room. Mary Jane hadn't stepped in yet to collect him, and somehow, he was worried sick. The Raven could have been out there, holding her off of the side of a building, ready to let go. His dreams told him the same...

"Hey, Tiger." She glided through the doorway like the angel on a pedestal she was.

"Hey! Picking me up, are you?" The smile refused to leave his face. She bent down to kiss him and pulled him up onto his feet after.

"C'mon, Peter. Let's go home."

The ride home was very quiet, and Peter found himself falling into his thoughts. Something was resting in the back of his mind.

_Don't get too comfortable, Parker. You never know who's lurking around the corner. _

Norman Osborn. He would never die. To Peter, he was still alive.

_I feel so terrible about your girl. Your future wife. I can hear her screaming now... As far as I'm concerned, she's already dead. I guess Harry chose the right business partner after all. Tell me, Pete: do you always trust your enemies like this, or is it just a phase?_

What did he mean? Trust your enemies...

_Well enjoy your perfect glass encasement of a life while it lasts. It will all come crashing down on you very soon. Goodbye, Parker._

Peter's arm twitched and his head snapped away from its last position. He was pulled from his daydreams... Were they only dreams? It had seemed so real...

"Hey Pete- don't fall asleep on me. What're you thinking about?"

"Oh..." He pieced together the information in his mind. Enemies... trust your enemies... _Good morning... Good morning, darling._ He heard it now, and it shocked him to the core. He'd heard the same voice that morning, when a blade threatened his life. It couldn't be... _possible_... I mean... Audrey Sterling– the Raven? But, the voice. Even the movements- so clean and graceful. The way she extended her hand to him... And Harry would never know. She had planned it so carefully... it was foolproof. As long as Audrey kept him happy with this new lifestyle, he wouldn't have a reason to question her. She was so beyond intelligent... Miles past the edge of insanity.

Oscorp wasn't the first thing on her mind. It was power; fame. She wanted free reign in the business world. She wanted money and front page pictures. She wanted Harry to do her dirty work. And who better for the job? As far as Harry knew, Spiderman killed his father, and he, Peter Parker, had lied. Lied about his identity, lied about his relationship with Mary Jane, lied about his father's death. Everything... a lie. It was so simple to corrupt him. And at the slightest hint of betrayal from Peter, Harry would cling to Audrey and carry out her every order. This beautifully simple plan of action... But how would Peter tell him?

That was the plan. _Don't tell Harry. _But what he didn't tell would be revealed sooner or later. On the other hand, if he even _implied_ that Audrey was the Raven...

_I guess Harry chose the right business partner after all._

"...nothing, MJ. Just about our wedding. What it's gonna be like. What date did we say again?"

"The twenty-first of May, remember?"

"Oh yeah, May."

"Hey... you have my cell, right, MJ?"

"Yep, right here. Who do you want to call?"

"Harry. I just want to see how he's doing, where he's going, all that."

Mary Jane smiled. "It's good that you two are talking again. But Pete... I have to know something after you call him."

"Okay..." He put his mouth close to the microphone and said, "Osborn, Harry." The phone repeated "Osborn, Harry," and dialed the phone number. Peter had forgotten to erase the entry marked 'Osborn, Norman'; and somehow he predicted he would never erase it.

"Hey, this is Harry Osborn. Leave a message after the..." There was a long beep. Peter pushed 'END' and set down his phone. After a long look from Mary Jane, he answered, "Must be busy."

"Pete," Mary Jane said, "didn't Audrey leave her number too?"

"Yeah..." Peter was reluctant to call the enemy on her cell phone, but then again... He dialed the number that had been written on a napkin in lipstick.

One ring... two... three......... six... Finally. She picked up. Peter felt tension building as he heard the voice breathe, "Hello, Parker- er, Peter! Hi... I have you in my phonebook."

"H-Hi Audrey." He swallowed hard. "Could you hold on a second?" He motioned to the car door and Mary Jane nodded. He stepped outside, making sure the car windows were closed. "All right Audrey. I know who you are, and I know what's going on."

"I'm a little _busy,_ and I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Stop pretending, Audrey!" Peter could hear the rustle of blankets and a very confused Harry asking questions. He heard a door close, then, breathing...

"Listen, _Spider-man. _There is _nothing_ you can do to interfere with this. Nothing. I have been planning this quick leap into power since before I even _met_ Harry. It's just an added bonus I discovered along the way. If it hadn't been him, it would've been some other ignorant fool attracted to a pretty girl in a miniskirt. The best way to prolonge your life is to get _out_ of my path. You know what happens when you get in my way now, don't you? Whether it's innocents, the ones you love, or even yourself, _someone WILL pay._ Oh, and by the way, you won't be able to reach Harry for a while. We're on the way to an important business meeting in Moscow."

"Russia?!"

"Goodbye, Parker."

Mary Jane opened the car door, walking into the house. Peter followed slowly, still stricken with fear. How could a hero fear? It was for MJ...

"Peter!" she cried. He ran into the house at due speed, stopping where she stood in the kitchen doorway. A long hooked dagger had been rammed through the center of the kitchen table, and the windows were open. "You have to tell me, Pete. You have to tell me everything."

"You won't believe me."

"I'll believe anything. Just tell me, Pete. Tell me what's going on."

He explained everything he had discovered in the past twenty-four hours in some detail, until finally he spoke his conclusion. "Mary Jane, she's the Raven. I called Audrey this morning. She's taking Harry to some kind of business meeting in Moscow."

"But... Audrey? Pete, are you sure–"

"MJ, she just threatened my life over the phone! Yeah, I'm pretty sure." His tone was extremely rigid and harsh.

"Alright, alright– I believe you, sorry..." She muttered to herself after speaking, trailing off in repeated apologies.

Peter stopped to rationalize. She wasn't the cause... Why was he angry with her? "I'm sorry MJ, but... I just don't want anyone getting hurt because of me. And you can't tell Harry."

"Don't tell Harry, got it." Mary Jane kissed him. "Please be careful, Pete. You don't know if this was her worst."

"I have a feeling it wasn't..." Peter had to call Harry. He had to. It was Harry's only chance of survival. He had to save him. Now. But wait... "Where's Aunt May?"

It was far too silent throughout for Aunt May to be home. _Maybe she's taking a nap..._ Peter called to her. Nothing. Again. Still, nothing. Then it was Mary Jane's turn to yell. Yet again... nothing at all. Not a mutter, not a grunt, not the sound of light snoring Peter often heard from the room down the hall. He ran up the stairs, walking down the hall toward her bedroom. "Aunt May?"He now spoke quieter so he wouldn't scare her out of sleep. But what if she wasn't sleeping? No... she was. But... "Aunt May are you alright?" He turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. Suddenly he was blown back by his own terror.

There was a trail of disarray in the room from the doorway to his aunt. Broken desk drawers, papers, photos, anything she had thrown or latched onto in struggle. A few small splashes of blood decorated the photos in starkness. Aunt May's shoulder was pinned to the wall by a knife. No. It was yet another of Audrey's daggers. She had left a note, too. In blood, the Raven had written "Welcome home." So sadistic... it was Audrey. It had to be. May was unconscious, and obviously bleeding, with a look of fear still on her face. So pale...

Peter nearly collapsed, but forced himself to her side. "Aunt May!" Was she alive? What could he do?

"Peter... Peter please... Please help me." Aunt May wouldn't open her eyes, but she moaned in pain. Then, she gazed at the blood on her hands. "Oh I've killed it. Did I kill it, Peter?" She'd seen Audrey. _It._

"No, no... But you're fine. I killed it. We'll call the ambulance, Aunt May. You'll be fine."

Hours and hours on end, Mary Jane and Peter waited in the visitors' center closest to the operating room. Mary Jane fell asleep on his shoulder, and the sound of her breathing was his only company. The assisting surgeon hadn't been out with news for quite some time, but Peter couldn't drift into sleep. His aunt was the only one left from his family. What would he do without her? How could he bear to see her die? He wouldn't...

But how had Audrey come and gone without Peter's knowledge? How could he have been so blind? That was her price. _You know what happens when you get in my way now, don't you? _He found her identity, and now, he would lose his aunt. No. He wouldn't give her up so easily. He would stop Audrey. Kill her if he had to. But what of Harry then? What would Harry think of the man who killed his father and his girlfriend? That would be the last thing Peter ever did. Harry could nearly defeat Audrey in a battle of insanity.

Finally, two minutes after eight, as black skies shaded the windows, the surgeon approached them. He was wearier, but no grief of death shone in his tired eyes. "She's doing much better than expected, Mr. Parker. We've been successful in stopping the internal bleeding, however, the nerves in the left arm, as you can see here..." He explained everything. But Peter couldn't hear. Blood was pounding in his ears. So much trauma at his expense... He would kill Audrey. As soon as the plane arrived in the airport, he would be there. He would kill her before she took her first step. This time it was more than personal. It was his duty as the savior of the suburbs. He would have to destroy the biggest threat in all of New York. And he'd have to suffer the wrath of Harry Osborn, losing his trust once again to the greater evil.

_A/N: Happy New Year everybody! A little late, but everything's been so hectic lately... I'm sooo glad to see so much feedback from this story! ::sniffles:: You guys are the best. Here's the new chapter for all of you that contracted rabies waiting for it (and all of you that are doin' just fine, too ::sniggers::) Well, hope you liked it. More to come! _


	8. Russian Proverbs and Autopsies

_Russian Proverbs and Autopsies_

"_You've reached Audrey Sterling, president of Oscorp Industries. Leave a message after the tone with name and number and Miss Sterling will return your call. Thank you, and have a nice day." _The voice was totally monotonous, obviously a machine. Audrey? Set her own voice mail? Please.

"I will find you Audrey. Soon. And I _will_ kill you. You've crossed the line. I don't know when or how, but I will kill you. You can't escape this one, Miss Sterling. Not even with _your _intelligence." He pushed 'END' and stared out the window. Usually, staring out the window meant looking out on what was Mary Jane's house. Her mom and dad still lived there, but refused to talk to her. He only hoped that they would show up at the wedding...

"Mr. Parker, your aunt is nearly in a stable condition. She's lost a lot of blood, but we have a transfusion taking place at the moment. There's really nothing else I can say until we find if the transfusion worked."

"Thank you, doctor."

"Where is the woman you walked in with?" the doctor asked casually.

Where _was_ Mary Jane? _Oh yeah..._ "She's getting some food and drinks."

"A very dedicated...?" Peter could tell the doctor had no idea whether Mary Jane was his girlfriend or sister.

"–Fiancé."

"Oh. Well congratulations to you both. I'll be out with more news if there is any change in her condition."

After some food and a pint of milk, Peter dozed off, not waking for the rest of the night. When he finally did, Mary Jane was asleep on his shoulder, but stirring as he moved.

"Hey Pete," she said, "no news yet?"

"That's what I was going to ask you." Hm. No news. Well, no news is good news, he assumed. Now, maybe a bit of breakfast. He checked his watch. 10:37! And no news? Oh, here comes the doctor. Or at least...It looked like the doctor. No, that was a very masculine nurse. Ugh... Peter had never been so taken by sleep since his last hangover, and who knows when _that_ had been.

"Mr. Parker, I have some news." Peter opened his eyes as much as he could, then closed them tight, and adjusted to the morning sunlight in the room. "Oh, finally. Can we take her home now? I think she'd really appreciate healing in her own home, doctor."

"Mr. Parker..." he took great pains at speaking, "...Your aunt is dead. I'm sorry. Her body refused the transfusion and she died some time during the night. She was in a stable condition! We did not expect this..." The doctor rambled on about procedures and malpractice suits, but Peter knew what had happened. While Mary Jane sobbed in his arms, Peter was strong. He could accept, but he wouldn't be silenced now. Aunt May would be proud of him for this. He knew it.

"I'd like an autopsy."

"...What?"

Mary Jane broke in. "–Peter, wh–"

"I want an autopsy. Please. Do this for me, and I won't sue, no matter what you find. A blood test, too."

"But... Mr. Parker!" He was indignant now, but compliant, too. He knew that Peter could very well sue the hospital, and there was no problem with this simple procedure. After reading an agreement clause and signing a few papers, there was nothing left to do.

All Peter had now was his wife-to-be. No family, his friends? Non-existent. Where was Harry?

""""""""""""""""""""""""""

"That went well," Harry said, walking towards the limousine. It had been waiting for them since the beginning of the meeting, and now the chauffeur was growing impatient. He spoke angrily in Russian, and Harry whispered, "What's his problem?"

"He's been waiting here for three hours, so he _says_. He's probably trying to get a bigger tip."

"Well, make the man happy," he grinned, putting quite a heavy wad of cash in the chauffeur's hand. The man smiled from ear to ear, almost literally, and opened the door for Audrey. He spoke something to her in Russian, and she replied courteously.

"What did you say?" Harry asked.

Audrey answered quickly, "A Russian proverb. Do not spit in the well- you may be thirsty by and by." Somehow, by the look on the man's face, Harry doubted it was as amusing as she said. But maybe he had a bad sense of humor. Maybe he wanted a bigger tip if he was going to laugh at jokes. Did they have to pay him for that, too?

As Audrey pulled the door closed, Harry scooted closer to her inside the roomy limousine. Television, drinks, privacy window? What else could there be- a hot tub? _You wish._

Another phrase in Russian. What was she telling him?

Harry's phone rang. "Yeah?"

"Harry," he heard Peter's voice say. The voice on the line was shaking, and he could tell there was intense anger waiting for him.

"Yeah Pete? Long time no see. What's up?"

"Aunt May is dead."

"Oh god..." Harry's heart felt like it had fallen into the pit of his stomach. Aunt May... she'd taken him in when his father threw him out... There was nothing to describe her kindness. And she was...

"How'd she die, Pete?" he asked softly.

Peter took an age to answer, and Harry was waiting on the edge of his seat in the limo. "One of the local crime maniacs. I have to talk to you as soon as you get back from Moscow. Alone."

"A-Alright, Pete. See you then." Harry closed the flip phone slowly, feeling stupefied. Aunt May...dead... An enemy?

"Who was that, Harry?" Audrey asked.

"Pete... His aunt died..."

She frowned, "Oh that's terrible... Wow... I hope he'll be all right. You should send him a card on the way back home..."

"A card? Audrey, he's my best friend. I'm visiting him."

"I'm sorry, Harry- but we've got a busy schedule. There can't be any stops. Not even home I'm afraid."

"I'm visiting him. You're not stopping me. Not this time."

"Harry," Audrey straddled his lap, "come on. Can't you just comply this one time?"

"AUDREY. Get off." He pushed her off his lap onto the floor of the limousine. "No. Not this time. Not anymore. You're keepin' me like a dog because I love sex."

"With me?"

"With you," he admitted. "That was obvious. But you can't keep me here by threatening me with no sex!"

"Can't I?" She kissed his neck softly, working her way down.

"No. You can't." He pushed her off him, most reluctantly at that. "If you're going to really act like you love me, be a good actress, okay?"

"Harry," Audrey sighed, resting her head against his shoulder (being an expert, she knew he'd love this), "I do love you. Why do you think I'm pretending? Don't you love me?"

"Of course I do," he muttered. "Stupid."

"Stupid, am I? I'm not the one that's refusing great sex."

"Whatever Audrey," he folded his arms, sitting stiffly. She snuggled up to him, stretching her legs out on the third seat, kissing his neck again.

"I do love you, Harry. Don't ever think differently, 'kay?"

"...Right..."

"I'm serious."

"I know, I know..." He slung his arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer. "Just upset I guess..." Audrey yawned, putting her collar up to block the sunlight.

"You know, Harry... you can't see in these windows, so technically..."

"No, Audrey."

"...Oookaaay..."

"Goodnight, Audrey."

"...g'night, Harry," she yawned, kissing him once before snuggling against his shoulder again. It would be a very long afternoon...

_A/N: THANKS FOR WAITING FOR THIS CHAPTER! Hope it was worth it. Who knows. I'm never happy with my own work. :sighs: What'd ye think, people? Thanks for all your support for this story._


	9. Mirage

_Mirage_

His feet landed soundlessly on the cement rooftop. He was standing... waiting. He wanted Harry dead. But it would never happen. Eventual peace would never come... "Harry! COME OUT HERE AND FACE ME." Peter's mask was soaked through with rain. It had taken him a great deal of time and energy to get here, to wait for Harry, to kill him once and for all. "What, are you a COWARD now!" He was off the deep end, and so far into insanity with pain from the death of loved ones. He no longer cared to know _friendship. _All Osborns were the same. They destroyed every life they touched. And now, he would end this terror. He would end the Osborns' bloodline forever.

Peter heard wet footsteps on the cement. Harry appeared in his civilian clothes, and looked anything but threatening. Peter bounded at him, knocking him to the ground. He pulled back and then threw a punch at Harry's face with amazing force. Blood dripped from Harry's nose as a second, third, fourth punch followed. He was relentless. The blood escaped from a gash on his cheekbone, and he groaned as a punch sailed at his stomach. Peter lost control as he mutilated this defenseless man, hoping to cause as much pain as he could before Harry passed out.

"–Pete," Harry choked, spitting blood onto the ground. "Come on. You're better than me. You don't kill!"

Peter laughed, then yelled at him in passionate anger. "You didn't have to see Aunt May after that... THING... killed her! You didn't have to see any of it."

"I didn't hurt anyone, Peter! I didn't kill anyone."

"You didn't do anything to stop _her_ either. You're just as much to blame."

"I know you're still my friend," he said weakly, holding his stomach. "I know you believe me. Don't do this, Pete." He looked up with bloodshot eyes, wanting pity, receiving none.

Peter drew a long blade. "Your girlfriend left this behind. I thought you might want it back." With a surge of his arm, the blade ripped headlong through Harry's chest, nearly tearing through his heart... _Nearly._ Harry pulled the revolver from his pocket and fired three shots. One... Peter's leg... Two... he caught him in the back as he tried to run away... Three... He had taken the last bullet to himself.

Both Harry Osborn and Peter Parker awoke in their beds, in their own homes, shocked beyond all reason... Recalling a dream, so horrific... What had made them resort to violence against eachother?

Why, Peter wondered, had he been so fierce. Whom had Audrey killed? Peter slid feet-first out of bed, shakily. He crept on the hard-wood floors of the hallway, stopping at Mary Jane's bedroom door. It was open a bit, and he peered in to find her sleeping peacefully. All was right, he thought, as he could see her chest rise and fall in tranquil breathing. She was fine... what was he worrying about? He walked back to his bedroom, _remembering _just what he had to worry about. That dream was too real... Too palpable to be _all_ fantasy.

Peter laid back down in bed, pulling up the covers. Whenever he was scared as a child, all he did was pull them over his head to keep the monsters out. He wished he could keep them out still. Audrey wouldn't go away every time he held a flashlight to the closet door or searched under the bed. She wasn't just a figment of his imagination. No matter how he tried to pull those same covers over his head, he could never keep the _real_ monsters away.

Harry wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. What was Peter talking about? Harry didn't stop someone... someone had killed Aunt May? _Murder? _Maybe one of his interns at Oscorp... _She?_ That new girl... Katrina Jones. Or Jill Menendez. A secretary, an assistant... It could be anyone...

_Pull yourself together, and don't be a moron. It was only a dream. Remember that one dream where you and that male intern were..._

Harry shuddered internally.

_As I said, just a dream. Just like this. You're not going to watch anyone die, or do the horizontal mambo with Claudio. Simple as that! Go back to sleep... You need it. Badly. _

Harry listened to reason rather than dreams. Dreams! A collection of thoughts from the day. Aunt May had died... Peter had been angry today. But where did the knife and the girl come from? THAT'S RIGHT! Murderer... girl... He had watched _Misery_ today.

_Nothing like Stephen King to give you nightmares. Go to sleep. Just... let it slide. Kathy Bates isn't going to kill anyone. Go to sleep..._

He closed his eyes again, waiting for a dreamless slumber. Now he was very glad he had fired Claudio... His eyes were still shut, but he was laughing softly to himself. A little levity in times of tragedy wasn't such a bad thing after all.

_A/N: I know it's short but the best is yet to come! Biiig fight scenes, crazy new revelations and a lot of my personal favorite (sexy man) Harry. I'M A WOMAN ON THE EDGE:types obsessively: Thanks again for your reviews. I love you guys:sniffles: _


	10. An Innocent Murderer

_An Innocent Murderer_

Audrey Sterling walked through the small, cluttered office of Katrina Jones, an intern. It was barely an office, more like a cubicle with a window and a door. The scent of coffee infiltrated Audrey's nostrils as she approached the desk. It was lined with... Smurfs? This woman, _this girl, _Audrey thought. _I've never seen someone this obsessed with toys since I bought my niece that train set last Christmas, and she's seven years old. _

She slipped past the bookshelf to the right, heading for the storage closet door... when she caught her skirt on the pointed metal edge of the desk.

"Damnit," she muttered, trying to free the piece of fabric. She removed one of her leather gloves, tugging at the skirt, "I just _had_ to buy...this thing catches the first time I wear it."

It seemed to be stuck on a piece of the metal that was bent backward from abuse. But criticizing Miss Jones' care of her desk wasn't the reason for this visit. She had much more important things at stake than a skirt.

Carefully, she pulled on her leather glove again. Audrey reached into the inside pocket of her blazer and pulled out one of her trademark daggers, still slick with blood. She was placing it in the intern's desk drawer when she heard a voice, a female voice, getting louder by the second.

"Yeah, I'll get right on it, Mr. Robins. Would you like some coffee or—" Katrina stopped at the door of her office. It had been locked when she left. A sudden rush of apprehension made her heart race, and she opened the door cautiously.

"Hello?" But in the eyes of Katrina Jones, there was no one in her office. It looked the same as when she had left it.

Audrey peered through the sliver of light left by the barely open door. The storage closet was stuffy, but sadly, almost as big as the office itself. She looked quickly at the intern and smiled. Miss Jones was heading for the desk.

Katrina noticed a handle of something hanging out of her top desk drawer. She didn't recognize it at all, and when she pulled at the handle...

A scream could be heard, so shrill and terrible, that several other Oscorp employees ran through the door of Katrina's office.

"What's wrong?" panted a young man in a blue suit. The woman behind him peered out with a look of shock. "Call the police! Have you been hurt?" Katrina was still shaking and didn't answer.

The man bolted out of the door again and down the hallway beyond.

"Which intern was it?" a voice echoed in the hallway. _Oh... _Audrey thought. _Oh god... No, he shouldn't be here today... Not today..._

"Mr. Osborn, let me explain–"

Harry stopped her, interrupting quickly. "...are you all right?"

"Yes, but–"

"Then that's all I need to know. Explain to the police when they arrive, and don't worry about your job...it'll still be here when you get back. Not like you did anything," Harry laughed. "You'll be fine."

Katrina laughed nervously, then looked at the long bloody dagger again. She dropped it onto the desk, following Harry as he left the room.

The woman followed Katrina out, giving the room a quick glance first. Once everyone had left, Audrey stepped out of the closet.

"A real mastermind comes prepared," she smiled to herself, taking her glider out from behind the bookcase. "And a flaky, frizzy little bleach-blond bitch like that never checks behind her furniture." She extended its metal wings and lifted a switch on the side, pushing it out of the window. It floated outside the window, and before the police had even arrived, she was flying into the woods nearest the Oscorp building.

Several days had passed since then, and the headlines were as such: "_OSCORP INTERN ON TRIAL FOR MURDER", "MORE EVIDENCE IN THE JONES TRIAL", "HAVE WE FOUND THE MYSTERIOUS KILLER?" _It was only a matter of time before the strategically placed murder weapons, clean of prints, were found throughout the city, even in Katrina's home. The outlook was bleak for the young intern, and with the newest murder weapon found... Peter Parker became more and more anxious to see what would be 'discovered' next. Rather, he hoped he could see a pattern before Audrey planted another piece of evidence.

"MJ?" Peter called from his room usptairs.

"Yeah Pete?" Mary Jane answered loudly from the living room.

"I was thinking of dropping by to see Harry today."

There was a long silence, punctuated by a sigh. "I don't know..."

"I need to talk to him."

Another long pause.

"Mary Jane?"

Silence.

He heard the last few steps creak, and before he knew it, Mary Jane was standing in the doorway. "...Are you gonna be long?"

"No, I don't want to stay there too long..." Peter didn't want to stay in the same house as Audrey. But then again, did he really want to leave Mary Jane here, alone? "Uh... Mary Jane?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you come with me to–"

"–I'll be fine, Pete."

"Just...do this for me, okay? I need you to come along this time."

Mary Jane answered with some thought in between. "...If it'll make you feel better... I'll go. But... I can take care of myself, you know."

Peter drew Mary Jane close to him and kissed her softly. "Not this time." He ran down the stairs, Mary Jane speeding after him as they made for the car.

"What's the rush?" she asked once they were in the car.

"I have to know this before she kills anyone else. I could solve this case if I can only catch Audrey planting evidence–"

"–Audrey? Peter, please! Don't do this. Did you ever think that Audrey might not be–"

"MJ, I have to do this!" he yelled, slamming on the breaks at the traffic light. A loud screech came from the car, and they were both jolted almost to the point of whiplash. "...I'm sorry...really I am, Mary Jane. But I know who killed Aunt May, and I won't let Audrey get away with this."

"Fine, Pete. But don't do anything drastic, okay?"

"I won't." He knew that it was a lie, but would he really upset Mary Jane by telling her the truth._ Truth is, you'd kill Audrey if you had Harry's confidence. But that won't be acquired any time soon, will it? There's no way he'll believe you unless you give him proof, and even then it's probably a lost cause._

He pulled into the circular drive of the Osborn estate, heaving a sigh. This wouldn't be easy... Peter left the car, heading down the pathway.

Mary Jane followed closely, holding his hand. "Remember, Pete. Just talking for now..."

"I know." He gripped her hand tightly in return, almost jogging now. He could imagine that Audrey was ready to kill... that Harry had just kissed her goodbye as she walked out the door...

"Pete, not so fast, come on..."

There it was...the entrance. He rang the doorbell and used the door knocker once, twice...

"Get the door!" Harry called. Peter knew he was ordering a servant... There was something exciting going on behind those doors, he could hear laughing and the sound of something...someone..falling?

"I'm gonna get you..."

"Not if I can help it!" He heard Audrey's voice last. He peered through a break in the window shade. Oh god... it was Harry's number one date ritual– his dumb wrestling game. All they did was chase and tickle eachother to death until someone gave in. When was the last time he did this? Years... Too many. He used it only once or twice, but the girls got a kick out of it... sometimes. Sounded like it was going pretty well.. _Christ... they sound very, very happy. This is going to be harder than I thought..._

"Where is he?" Harry fumed. Peter took it that Harry was looking for the butler. "Never mind, I'll get it..."

The door opened.

"Peter, Mary Jane. Hey!" Harry looked very well, happier than ever... It was worse than Peter had thought. "Well come on in, Audrey's here too. Audrey!" he called to his...wrestling partner... "Pete and MJ are here."

Mary Jane entered ahead of Peter, and his first look around alerted him to the fact that Audrey was still on the floor, laughing. The smile left her face at the sight of them both... And she rose to meet them.

"Hello Peter– Mary Jane, I hoped I'd meet you again before..."

"Before?" she asked in a very friendly tone. Peter waited anxiously for this. _Before what, Audrey? We all want to know._

"...Before the wedding, of course. Yours and Peter's. Well, I'd hoped you could stay for dinner... if it's fine with Harry."

"Of course," Harry said, kissing Audrey's hand. "I'll go talk to Priss, she's an amazing cook." Hired help, Peter assumed.

"Right this way," Audrey said, leading them both to the dining room.

_Damned near impossible...she's asked us to be dinner guests. What's next? Mary Jane choosing her as a bridesmaid?_


	11. Delightful

_Delightful_

Peter remembered this dining room table. He was sure Harry had taken it from the veritable penthouse that Norman called "a humble lounge and study" on West 42nd Street. It was the same table that they'd all been sitting at the day Norman Osborn had made his most infamous suggestion... that Harry should treat Mary Jane as a common whore. _"Do what you need to with her then broom her fast." _Peter had liked Mr. Osborn less and less... up until the day he discovered the truth about him. His own product had driven him mad.

"Please, sit."

Both Peter and Mary Jane sat down at this.

"I thought we agreed that this would be a short visit," Mary Jane whispered.

"Trust me, we'll be out of here in no time," Peter whispered back.

"Well!" Audrey said, very loud in contrast to their own indistinct conversation. "What's the occasion?"

"Hm?" He had been thinking intently on an escape plan.

"Pete... she wants to know why you're here," said Harry. "So do I...– I mean, it's just... Aren't you busy– with the wedding and all?"

"Not really." Why was Harry making excuses for them to leave? Maybe he did know more than Peter had assumed.

Audrey sat beside Harry... right across from Peter. They faced eachother, as they often did, with a shared look of confidence and superiority.

The conversation continued as usual. Simple small talk mixed with underlying jibes from Audrey that no one seemed to notice or had pretended not to. No one except Peter. He was delving into the quiet chat as if he expected a murder confession to arise. The appetizers were nearly gone when the questions became more intense.

"So, Audrey. I bet the conspiracy at Oscorp has got you on edge."

"Not at all. It'll be taken care of, and I'm glad to know that our company will be safe again once that terrible woman is put into jail."

"I just hope they've caught the right person. Wouldn't it be sad to keep an innocent person while some criminal genius was still out there?" Peter took a large amount of the pale liquid on the table into his mouth which he assumed to be water. He was wrong. It had the musk of alcohol about it, and a single gulp make him cough. He hoped that she had no intention of poisoning him.

"No Peter, the water is the one on the left."

"And that was... what?"

"That was 90 proof vodka."

Harry felt the need to interject, opening his mouth, preparing to speak, but decided it was better to keep his mouth shut, and closed it again.

"It was Norman's..." Audrey added, which was exactly what Harry hadn't dared to say.

Peter found this disturbing, the fact that they kept the man's alcohol here and served it to guests. Who knows what could've been in that violent drunkard's liquor.

"What else of Norman's have you kept, Harry?" Peter asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice.

Harry paused to look at him, then answered, "What are you getting at, Pete? I just kept his liquor 'cause it's a good stock. Why waste it?"

"Because your dad was an alcoholic, Harry! Why would you keep it?"

"My dad was not an alcoholic! He drank some to relax, but that's not why he died." He knew his father was an alcoholic. But the last words were true. Alcohol didn't kill him... Peter did. Spiderman murdered his father, for whatever reason, and now he was insulting him even after he was dead?

"No, he died to make up for the murders he committed."

"Pete, stop it!" Mary Jane said, putting a hand on his shoulder. She looked slightly frantic, as if she finally believed that she was sitting across from a murderer.

Harry couldn't believe was he was hearing. His father didn't commit any murders! Norman was a businessman!

_Then what of that stockroom you found? The one behind the mirror. You know he was helping someone, the way he had all those bombs, those test tubes and spare gliders. How often do you go back there and wonder why he helped such bold criminals?_

"My father wasn't a villain. DON'T YOU REMEMBER PETER? He took you in when you were jobless, BROKE. And this is how you repay my father."

They were both standing now, at the head of the table. Blood raged through Harry's veins, rushing like a river flooded, turning his face slightly pink with anger. His eyes bloodshot, glaring; he never looked so terrifying in the eyes of Audrey Sterling... And she loved it.

Peter looked angry, but not as enraged as his best friend. Reason was lost. Now it seemed war. "He was a good businessman, and he was nice, but Harry– he was insane! HE MURDERED PEOPLE, HARRY! Don't you see any fault in that?"

"YOU BASTARD, MY FATHER WAS A GOOD MAN. HE WANTED YOU FOR HIS SON, PETE. He didn't need a son like me when he had you. Smart; a real future. _That Parker, he's going places. A good, honest worker. _He hate freeloaders like me. HE LOVED YOU MORE THAN HE DID HIS OWN SON, AND STILL YOU KILLED HIM."

Audrey was taking particular pleasure in seeing Harry so white-hot with anger. He had the power that his father never had. It was honest vengeance, instead of particularly selfish. He wanted to save his father in order to prove he was the better son... She had never loved Harry until this moment when he could have killed Peter with just a glance.

"I'm leaving, for both our sakes... this isn't going anywhere. I'll see you in the morning, Harry."

"Don't you walk away from me, coward! I'll come after you."

Mary Jane followed Peter closely, clutching his arm, trying not to look back at Harry.

"I had the girl, too. I HAD EVERYTHING AND YOU TOOK IT AWAY, PETER."

Mary Jane turned and approached him. "You have everything and still you're not happy. Leave Peter alone, Harry! It's not his fault that—"

A swift backhand struck its forceful blow across her face, and she was flung to the ground. The joy on Audrey's face was distinct and refused to leave. This is what she had hoped for. Harry growled in undertones. "Get away from me. You've overstayed your welcome. My dad was right about you, MJ. I just wish I'd seen it then."

Peter ran at Harry, his fist coming in swift contact with Harry's jaw. Not broken, he didn't want to. If he had needed to hurt him that badly, Harry would be dead right now. Audrey fell to her knees and cradled Harry's bleeding head in her arms, stretching him out across her lap.

"I don't want to see you anywhere near my wife, Harry. You understand?"

Audrey turned her head up to glare at him. "Go home, Parker. And don't come back." She was incensed at the sight of such force. Peter was still more powerful than her poor Harry. But not for long. Not if she could help it.

_A/N: I kinda revoked a chapter and then added this one in its place. It's short, I know... but Harry's such a beast. ;) Next chapter is already started. Hopefully I'll send it on the next day I have off... THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING if you have, and if you haven't... do so. It's only a click away. _


	12. Eye Witness

_Eye Witness_

It had been almost a month since the night that Peter and Harry faced the truth about eachother, and since then, both had made an effort to never look back on a seemingly dead friendship.

After all, they were both happier this way... Separate lives with separate duties. Ironic really, how involuntarily tangled in eachother's business they already were. Eventually they would have to confront eachother again... Eventually.

The autopsies had long since returned, and they had proven fruitful to Peter. He could still hear the doctor's worried voice in his head.

"_Mr. Parker... The results of your aunt's autopsy were startling, to say the least. I don't know your motives for requesting this procedure, but if I'm allowed, I'd like to get the police involved."_

"_No, please. I'd like to keep this quiet."_

"_But Mr. Parker--"_

"_Doctor, please. The results?"_

"_...Your aunt had a potentially harmful chemical in her bloodstream for what seemed to be weeks, possibly months. But, there was only one type of catalyst that could've possibly contained enough energy and triggered its lethal effects. Our forensic analyst suggested that the catalyst was injected into your aunt's bloodstream the day of her death. Mr. Parker, I'm going to ask again that this case may be given to the police."_

"_No."_

"_...It's not your permission I'm looking for, Mr. Parker. I just hoped to receive your consent before I handed this case over to private investigators. I have no choice. Whether or not you agree, this is a homicide case."_

"_...Let's go, MJ."_

"_Mr. Parker, at least give us your consent so that this investigation won't be a war!"_

"_My aunt was murdered, doctor. I'm already at war."_

"_Pete...let's just go home." Mary Jane... the voice of logic. She's the only reason I came to my senses and signed the consent form. I'm glad at least one of us can think under pressure._

But the case was handled well. The police had kept it under wraps for quite some time now. As for the other murders, well... Audrey had taken her time to plant the evidence carefully in the footprints of an innocent woman.

"Audrey! Turn on the television. There's something I want to see." Harry bolted from the upstairs bathroom where he had been showering, heading toward the lobby. He scampered down the grand staircase, skipping several steps as he jumped to the landing.

"What's your hurry? It's just another murder trial." Audrey took no alarm when he leapfrogged over the top of the couch, landing beside her on a corduroy pillow.

Harry's voice held an incredulous tone as he panted and made an attempt to lounge in his disheveled state. "Exactly. You don't care about them?"

Her face said 'uninterested', but in her eyes there was a flicker of delight. "No, not really. Though... the murders were quite mysterious... Some of the bodies seemed to have been in the homes for days, weeks even. It's a _wonder _that Spider-Man hasn't saved the day. What do you think of it?"

"He's been busy with wedding plans," Harry muttered under his breath.

"Hm?" Audrey had heard him perfectly well, but stuck to her display of obliviousness.

"Nothing. Turn it up."

"Oh fine... You're welcome," she muttered, feeling for the remote beside her, eyes still fixed on the television screen.

"Huh?" Harry honestly hadn't heard at all. Unlike his pseudo-lover, he was very simplistic. Not stupid, not at all. But not a secretive or emotionless person. Whatever he felt, he would react before thinking. This made him entirely perfect prey for the woman sitting next to him, the one he slipped an arm around as he watched the news intently. Audrey rested her head on his shoulder to set the mood. Another precise move in the eyes of a criminal perfectionist.

"_Katrina Jones entered the New York City Criminal courthouse this morning, as a kind and caring former employee of Oscorp Industries, and mother of two..."_

"A mother of two! She's not even married..." Harry was unobservant, but sweet, and provoked a grin from Audrey. She shifted, sitting straight up on the couch.

"Harry, darling, not everyone has _your _moral code. There are single mothers. Now shhh. I want to hear this."

"You said you didn't care about---"

"Shh!" she put her hand over his mouth, but pulled it away when she felt his tongue against her palm. 'Eww..." She wiped off her hand on his shoulder as he laughed quietly. If only he knew that the woman he loved, the woman he kissed on the forehead and leaned against, was responsible for his employee's arrest. Responisble for the slaughter. (But silence! The television beckoned them, and the story continued.)

"_...accused of eighteen counts of murder in the first degree."_

"Eighteen!"

"Shut up I want to hear this."

"But Audrey—"

"–Don't make me bite you."

"Don't make me like it."

"Idiot,"she sighed, leaning on his shoulder until he was quiet.

"_...was the plea entered. Devoted mother wrongly accused, or violent serial killer? This is Stephanie O'Connor reporting live from the steps of the NYC Criminal courthouse."_

"Okay it's over now. What were you going to say?"

"Doesn't matter..." Harry leaned his head against the top of hers, whispering in her ear. "Hey Audrey... I'm off tomorrow. No getting up early. Which means I can stay up _all night_ if I want. Which means..."

"Which means I have to be in early tomorrow to sort out the patent forms for our new product line. _You_ can still stay up as late as you want though." He let out a groan as she got off of the couch, adjusting her shirt, smoothing her hair. "I'm going to sleep."

"No you're not." Harry grabbed Audrey by the hips and pulled her down onto the couch, laying her legs out across his lap. "You're going to stay down here on the couch with me, and we'll discuss... business."

"No seriously, Harry. I have to go to sleep. Long day tomorrow." She stood up, hovering over him, leaving a long kiss goodnight on his lips.

"I'll see you in the morning," Harry said, turning his glance in the direction his father's study.

She was gone up the stairs in no time at all, and he missed her sorely when she left. But still, something was on Harry's troubled mind.

_You miss me, don't you?_

Like I miss the Flu.

_Why can't you admit it?_

"Because you never left,"Harry thought aloud. "Stormin' Norman... You left behind so much fucking damage and so many loose ends."

A different, uninvited thought in his mind... A different thought, not his at all.

_But that's not it, is it? I'm still alive somewhere in your mind, and you haven't silenced me. Is it because you can't or because you secretly agree with my ideas of vengeance?_

I think I'll go off to bed. Audrey's waiting...

_You can't run from the truth for too long. You know that you want to kill Parker. She knows it, too. She's smarter than you think._

Audrey has nothing to do with this.

_Oh, you think not? Why do you ignore what's so obvious? Son, she's got it all figured out, and you're just another playing piece in her game. If only you saw it, if only you appreciated the beauty of what's going to unfold._

Leave me alone, Norman! I don't have to listen to you.

(Harry had not realized yet that he was pacing the room and had been doing so ever since these thoughts pierced the still silence.)

_Try and block out that thought in the back of your mind, that thought that I'm right and you've been foolish. Try and keep it away longer and it'll destroy you! I'm always with you, Harry. At least give me my dying wish by taking another's life._

Harry's reflection in the mirror... it wasn't his own. A man his height, yes, but older, a stern look about his pointed face. A shrewd, skulking, angered man that attempted to tower over all that denied him his simple luxuries.

"You can't do this."

_Accept it, Harry. Become a player in her game, not just a pawn. You'll reap more rewards if you join her, and you'll be in the right. You'll be avenging me, not committing murder. It'll be a mercy killing._

"You can't do this!" Harry saw his own reflection in the mirror when he looked up again; Norman was gone.

Harry froze, white with fear, eyes staring into the mirror.

_I can't. But someone will._

A long, dark, cloaked figure was standing beside him.In its hand,a long needle, the vial attached filled with green liquid...

...which the figure had already embedded in his neck before he had a chance to scream.

His body collapsed, and he felt the vial, now empty, fall against his shoulder. He sensed his mind slowing, and it seemed to take ages for him to hit the ground. Thankfully, he hadn't impaled his neck on the needle, but still... it was there. The wound stung only until it was dulled by the feeling of fiery blood crawling under his skin... But he was too numb to speak.

Darkness crept over Harry's half-lidded eyes, as he heard an oddly soothing voice humming from above him. It sounded so angelic. It sounded like his mother... But that was truly impossible...

...Unless he was dead.

Cold, harsh laughter; loud and unsettling. Like a jackal, like a madman.

_A/N: Short chapter, I felt inspired today... Hope you enjoyed it. COMMENT PLEASE! Thanks._


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